


Dropping Hints

by DragonDetective



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Silver Dragon Angus, but for now thats all ive got those are the main uhh things so yeah!, i'll add things as they come up since this is a in the works fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22179406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonDetective/pseuds/DragonDetective
Summary: “You’re human, right? Like; if you’re half elf I’m not missin’ the hints, am I?”Angus laughed, covering his mouth slightly. “Oh, no sir! I- I mean yes sir- I,” he chuckles and sighs, regaining himself. “I am perfectly human in every way, sir. No elf or orc or dwarf or whatever anywhere in these little bones!”Taako gets suspicious of his boy and investigates, with a little help.A dragon Angus McDonald fic, with some Taakitz dads.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako, Kravitz & Angus McDonald, Kravitz & Angus McDonald & Taako, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 179





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi folks! welcome to my dragon angus fic! hope u enjoy. not sure on the update schedule, but ch2 is halfway done right now. i have a few days off work too, so i think we might get up to ch3 by the end of january; trying to keep it one a week! anyways love you all please enjoy!

Something seemed... off, about Angus McDonald. Nothing new, nothing was wrong, but something about that kid just never sat right. Maybe it was the strength? He was very powerful for such a little boy, the world's “greatest detective” or not. Couldn’t remember his grandfather’s name, mistook his very own age on accident once. The way he talked about himself, and the way his weight seemed far larger than he could ever hide being. No, there was definitely something not right with Angus.

Taako sat across from the little boy on the couch of the Tres Horny Boys’ common room, Angus’s nose tucked away into the latest Caleb Cleavland novel while Taako lounged about, simply studying the kid. He twirled his wand between his fingers, gently biting his lip as he looked him over.

Angus sat before him with dark skin and even darker hair that sat in coils and curls upon his head, his blue hat with pinned feather placed loosely on top. His eyes were deep brown, and his vision poor, as evidenced by his thick round glasses. His cheeks were freckled in a peculiar way that Taako couldn’t quite place. Were they sparkling? Maybe he’d had a crafts project with someone. Who, though, or what, Taako couldn’t even begin to guess. He’d tuck away the thought for later.

His facial construction was slightly pudgy and definitely human, evidenced by his ears, which a well worn pencil rested behind. The rest of him was tucked under a white button up topped with a blue sweater vest, and silvery painted nails held his book close. He was entirely consumed with it.

What was up with this kid? Nothing cosmetically, aside from the maybe-glitter-maybe-freckles, but even that could just be a spell trick, or something done intentionally for a little fun. It was a good look.

So maybe deeper, maybe the answer is deeper, Taako thought, leaning back against the couch with a sigh. Angus referred to himself as a ‘flesh boy’ once, emphasized often that he was ‘a little boy’, which was weird. He resisted Zone of Truth impossibly well, was capable of dragging Juicy Wizard Graham- a full grown man- across and out of a train car, and evidently did a lot of detective work by himself. He had no team to speak of, nothing other than the case report and then the local militia to perform a formal arrest. Kid held his own well.

He also liked to collect things, mostly books. He was drawn towards books with fabric casings and metallic shiny page edges. Real fancy shit. Of course he collected book series too, ones involving mystery almost exclusively if not grabbed for the aesthetic. Sure he kept some books for his investigative research, but those were not collected.

He also seemed to enjoy fabric lined boxes, having several on a shelf in his room, mostly discarded and empty plush ring holders. He kept one box in his pocket to tuck his glasses into if he needed, sometimes taking it out just to feel the velvet within. When taken to Fantasy Costco, Taako had to more than once pull him away from the crafts and fabrics. The nice stuff, too. Expensive taste. Taako could respect that. 

None of that was weird though... Well, no, a lot of it was weird. The carrying Graham and the Truth save were very weird. His possession of the intercepting book was peculiar. Taako wasn’t sure of too many little kids who were that into fancy fabrics and aesthetics, and Angus promised to save his spell slots for lessons. The freckles were likely an unnecessary magical flare, that, truthfully, could have ended poorly. Angus was too cautious to risk something like that; right? All the above, paired with the fact that he up and near immediately forgot about his grandfather and so on now that he stayed on the moon... What the hell was wrong with this kid?

“Sir?” A small voice shook Taako out of thought, and he sat up with a start. 

“Yeah, pumpkin?”

“What’re you thinking about?” Angus asked, his book closed politely in his lap, legs folded criss cross. He almost never sat any other way.

“Oh, nothing. Everything. The us’,” Taako answered, twiddling the wand around in his hands, between his fingers again. “Angus?”

“Yes sir?”

“You’re human, right? Like; if you’re half elf I’m not missin’ the hints, am I?”

Angus laughed, covering his mouth slightly. “Oh, no sir! I- I mean yes sir- I,” he chuckles and sighs, regaining himself. “I am perfectly human in every way, sir. No elf or orc or dwarf or whatever anywhere in these little bones!”

“None whatsoever?” Taako sat up further, tucking his legs beneath himself as he slid closer to Angus, one hand on the back of the couch, steadily inching forward.

“Positively nothing but a one-hundred percent human boy right here, sir!”

“Not even... here?” Taako asked, and before Angus could react, hands were on him, prodding and poking and tickling the detective, who laughed loudly.

“No- no sir! Nothing; I-I’m a real human flesh boy!” He swore, giggling and trying desperately to push the reclaimer’s hands away to no avail.

“What about here? Or here?” Taako continued to press as the detective protested, and thankfully for Angus a rift soon thereafter opened behind the couch. 

“Babe?” Taako asked, pausing his onslaught and sitting up instead of leaning over the defenseless child, who was now protecting his stomach and grinning. 

Kravitz smiled, nice suit and all, despite the lack of need. “I thought I might stop by, but you seem to be busy,” he said with a small chuckle, ridding of his scythe and sitting in a chair nearby.

“Busy? Absolutely not, bored is more like it. Come here,” Taako quickly moves beside Kravitz, gripping him by his suit and up for a kiss, which Kravitz smiles into before carefully pushing Taako away.

“I’ve missed you too, love.”

Taako scoffs dramatically and drops himself back into the cushions of the couch, making them bounce; Angus’s seat bouncing the least. He laughs softly as his mentor throws himself carelessly down.

Taako twists, finding an unconventionally comfortable position before smiling at an amused reaper. “So, did you have any plans for stopping by, or...?”

“Well, again, if you’re preoccupied-“ Kravitz cast a quick glance to Angus, and before he could continue the boy stood from the couch.

“Oh! I can go, sirs. Enjoy your time together; I can read in my room! It was nice to see you Mr. Kravitz, and thank you for letting me hang out even though it wasn’t a magic day, Mr. Taako!”

“No, you don’t need to leave, Angus-“ Kravitz tries to interject, but Angus was already halfway to the door.

“I’ve been here all morning, it’s your turn on Taako Time,” Angus assures, slipping his shoes back on from where he’d left them by the door.

“See ya, pipsqueak!” Taako called, waving a nonchalant hand over the couch, making minimal effort for a proper goodbye.

“Goodbye, Angus,” Kravitz managed, and Angus had his bag over his shoulder. With a final farewell and wave, Angus left the reclaimers room.

“... You hate Angus so very much that you spend time with him so casually on a day off?” Taako doesn’t have to look to know about Kravitz’s stupid grin, giving a dismissive hand wave.

“Squirt was very convincing and I didn’t want to hear him whine about it later.”

“Right, right, yes... So what did you do together?”

An innocent question that would grant him loads of tease ammunition. Taako rolled his eyes and sat upright again. No use drawing it out. “Painted each other’s nails, listened to him talk for a while, then chilled over here. Nothing too exciting.”

“I thought his nail polish was recent,” Kravitz comments with a small nod, “What did he tell you about?”

“Just his dumb books and some of his cases. Hey- Ango’s like- weird, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, beyond the detective shit and being the only kid on the moon, he’s super weird. He’s not a normal kid. I mean, like- he’s hella smart, you already knew that, but did you know he resisted Merle’s Truth bullshit, like, super well? Impossibly well for an ‘eight, oh no I said ten before didn’t I?’ year old. Thats a quote, by the way. Like; what the fuck?! I might forget my age sometimes, but I have decades, and don’t jump to defend him my man because age doesn’t even apply to you anymore. But him? A ‘human’ ‘child’?! Why the fuck would he miss his age by two years? I can see one year if he had a recent birthday but I know his birthday and it’s not-“

“Taako.”

“Yeah?”

“I get that Angus’s age is bothering you. He’s really smart, yes. It’s... A lot of skill in such a small package.”

“Okay but that’s what I’m saying; what if the kids not a kid? He’s definitely not human, right? What human child can carry full grown men out of train cars? Have you heard how he talks about himself? It’s sus sometimes, like super duper sus. You’re a ‘flesh boy’? I sure hope so! And- oh my Gods, Krav! Did you notice his face? His freckles? Why are they silver? I didn’t think he was ever one for doing lots of sparkly crafts- they’d get all over his books and he can’t have that- and I honestly don’t pay the most attention to his face because his glasses are so huge but I ruined my taste for drinks with a stupid spell so why would he, as inexperienced and careful as he is, bother casting a spell for glitter cheeks every day? He hardly has the slots for lessons and he’s going to bother making sure he’s always top notch aesthetically?! It’s unheard of!!”

“Could’ve been a permanent mistake, like yours,” Kravitz offers with a shrug, which Taako completely disregards. 

“No, absolutely not! He would have asked about some way to undo it or something by now, probably. Plus, I think they’ve been there since before the lessons.” Taako pauses, but before Kravitz can try respond he starts again. “Oh- have you ever tried to pick Angus up?”

“..Not to my memory, no.”

“Oh well trust me big guy, you’d remember. He’s heavy! Not even like- bulky kid heavy. He’s furniture level heavy. It’s ridiculous, where does he keep it? Does he have weights hidden on him?!”

“Taako, do you think about this a lot?” A break in Taako’s concentration, finally. A chance to speak. Kravitz chuckles as he watches his significant other readjust on the couch, debating his answer. “It seems like you do. What do you think, then, if Angus is not a human child?”

“.. Something magic, fo’ sho’...”

“Mhmm… Well, why don’t you take the time to figure that out if it’s bothering you so much?”

“You know more cool magic races than I do, probably.”

“Your excuse is that I know more?” Kravitz asks with a laugh, and Taako rolls his eyes.

“It wasn’t before, but it is now. So why don’t you help me, hot stuff?” the wizard asks, moving to hang upside down off the furniture. “Something to do, until something more exciting comes up.”

A sigh. “Okay. Fine, why not. So, what else strikes you as odd about Angus?”

* * *

With a small push of his hips, Angus shut his dorm door behind him. He’d gotten a solitary dorm on the moon, mostly because he was the only kidin the Bureau. Madame Director thought it might be odd on all parties for Angus to be put in with adults, and it was easily settled that Angus kept a room to himself unless any more unexpected children joined the base. Angus was glad for it; he was grateful to have somewhere to stay and... well, he kind of needed the room. 

Setting his bag on his bed, he emptied out the contents and arranged things around. His wand was placed on his desk, his bag tucked underneath, his books beside the nest of blankets and pillows he maintained, then his glasses case in an empty space on the mattress toward the head of the bed. Angus kicks off his shoes, putting them near the door, before scrambling into his soft mess and picking up his book from before, happily losing himself among the pages once more.

A knock at the door. Angus groaned, stretching himself out. He hadn’t realized he’d fallen asleep. “Just a minute,” he called, and they stepped off for a moment. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling the smaller rough scales that made up his face. It’d worn off again. He sighed and sat back on his haunches, opening his eyes and squinting around for his glasses; they’d fallen off in his sleep.

More knocking. “I just woke up, hold- .. Hold on,” Angus offered with a yawn, and upon seeing small plumes of smoke from his maw, gently batted them away. He found his glasses and put them on, and from there things were made much easier. He hopped out from his nest and tried to shake the sleepiness away before casting a- well… considerably flawed version of polymorph. Sure, it was more of something… Adult dragons did, change their form to be among smaller races, and their casting was much more effective, but what was a boy detective to do? Blow his cover? As if. 

He stretched himself out, human in appearance once again, and glanced around. He hadn’t shed… That was good. Finally he opened the door. “Hello! Sorry, I took an accidental nap...”

“No bigs, little dude. You feelin’ okay?” Taako asked, leaning his head against the door frame. His hat bent in a funny way; Angus wondered what he used to keep it on his head. 

“Perfectly fine, sir! Why do you ask?”

“.. What uh.. What time did you fall asleep kid?” Taako looked over his nails casually, an attempt to make his concern seem less than it was.

“When I got to my dorm, just about. Why?”

“Been asleep for a while, that's all. You feel sick or anythin’? Noon is a- it’s a pretty weird time for a nine hour nap, ya know? You sleep last night?”

Oh. His sleep was weird, Angus knew that. Growing kids needed rest, but Angus tended to dip into more than was necessary. Babies need more sleep than children. Sure, he could go a day or two at a time, but have to sleep a whole day in advance, which was difficult. He’d always end up with naps, which would be excellent were he an actual human child, but… A full night’s— er, a whole day’s— rest really did serve him well from time to time. Not eight or so hours, but a solid sixteen. At least, Angus knew that he felt best when he slept that long, and he could go for a thirty-six hours on that alone.

That’s what felt natural; it's what he did planetside, between cases, where no one thought to check in on him. Folks at the Bureau didn’t know that though; sleeping most of the day in a human usually wasn’t a good sign. They were just worried about him. Angus could manage working off naps.

“Oh, yes sir, I’m just fine! Slept last night, too.”

“Fo’ sho’?” Taako looked down at him, looking him over for some sort of tell.

“Absolutely positive.” Angus nodded, smiling bright. Taako sighed and rolled his eyes, moving to lean his back against the doorframe and look nowhere in particular. 

“Fine. Need to eat? Late; dinner time. Maybe we could uh.. Do somethin’ afterwards, since you just woke up til you’re tired again.”

“That sounds good, sir!” Angus grinned, slipping on his shoes and putting his glasses case and wand into his pockets. Taako gestures him out of the room, taking a look around while closing the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i . do not care what real dnd silver dragon lore is , nor that they have ice breath (i think) instead of fire because... im not going to hunt down fantasy big lizard lore for my destress fun times fic. thank you for understanding.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connecting the dots!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this is so late. i was like by the 17th totally i already have chapter two half done forgettimg tht I WORK FULL TIME and the only reason i had ch1 done and properly spaced out a few days to edit and THEN chapter two was bc i had a few unexpected days off oh my gODS
> 
> i might go and actually give these chapter names but for now. numbers remain.
> 
> anyways i finished this at 3am and editted it this morning so sorry abt any whoopsie uh ohs. hope u enjoy!

“These are disgusting. They’re wild greasy and floppy and shit. Horrible.” Taako pops another fry in his mouth as he complains, glancing around the establishment.

“Why do you keep eating them then, sir?...”

“Cuz I’m gonna stop? Absolutely not. They’re rancid, I’m living for it.”

“...Alright. Uh- why’d you insist on Fantasy McDonalds? I thought you liked- different food?”

“Because it’s fuckin’ hilarious! Angus McDonald in a Fantasy McDonalds! What’s not funny about it?”

“My uncle Ronald started these, it’s not a  _ coincidence _ , sir, that’s my actual family name!” Angus informed, idly kicking his legs under the table. He’d unfolded them just to do that.

“Oh yeah? Huh. Well then, since you’re up n all, whatcha wanna do once y’finish your food, kid?”

“I’m not sure, sir! We still have a bit to decide though- um, if I told you I was still hungry would you believe me…?” Angus asks with a sheepish smile, neatly folding and setting aside his fourth burger wrapper. Taako rolled his eyes and tosses him his gold pouch, motioning him away in the direction of the counter.

For the third time tonight.

“Hey- kid, just get like four total this time, yeah? If you’re gonna eat out ya uncle’s stock might as well do it effectively. Will eight total be enough for you?”

Angus paused to think about it, shifting the pouch gently to feel the weight move in his hands. Taako bit back a laugh, grinning wildly. “Wait- you mean you  _ don’t _ think eight will be enough for the world’s smartest and apparently hungriest boy detective? Jeezy creezy… Try six; I’m cutting you off from this junk at ten and if you can’t get to that then Magnus gets the scraps. Go wild, kid.”

“Thank you, sir!” Angus quickly slides from the booth and to the counter, the employee at the register unsurprised at the boy’s return. 

This amount of food wasn’t normal either, right? Like- maybe for Magnus, but he’s huge and always moving. Angus was tiny. Taako sighed and sipped his drink (a near-flat soda), tapping his nails against the side.

Taako had decided, after Angus’s eighth burger of the evening, that they would practice some basic magic to get it nailed down. Angus was fine, probably didn’t need this training, but Taako’s next lesson was already planned and there was no way he was going to do it tonight. Absolutely not.

They called for an orb back home, in a clearing a little ways from the city they’d popped into. Angus stood beside Taako, holding a paper bag with a meal for Magnus. Taako’d promised him at least something, but not that it would be warm when they got back. It didn’t matter; shit was gross regardless of temperature.

“So, what spells are you fuckin’ up?” Taako asked, looking down at Angus. He stood leaning considerably towards Taako, and his lids were heavy. He was going to be dead weight before they got back to the Bureau. Angus shut his for a moment before he began to teeter over, then quickly righting himself and looking up to his mentor with a smile. 

“Uh.. Illusory script, I think I need to get-“ Angus interrupted himself with a yawn, rubbing at one of his eyes. “Get um.. More practice with it, make sure the uh.. fake, messages come out less- me...”

“Or I could cast sleep right here and now, get you fixed up.”

“What? N-no sir! I’m fine, sleepy from just waking up is all.”

Bullshit. They’d been out for an hour now, not to mention the half hour it took to get ready. He’d just slept a solid night’s worth in the middle of the day, no reason for this. Whatever, he’d have to ask Magnus what he thought.

“Alright, bucko… I’m not carrying you to your room if you fall asleep though, enjoy the orb sleep experience.” As he spoke their ride arrived, Taako climbing in and helping Angus up (What? He was being  _ slow _ ). Angus attempted some conversation about his Caleb Cleavland novels, quickly ended up infodumping (which Taako wouldn’t admit made his heart swell), and eventually it faded out into soft mumbling, quiet, and then snores.

“Called it.”

* * *

In the hangar, Taako asked Avi to help him get Angus out before carrying him to the reclaimer’s dorm. Why bother making laps? Taako laid him down in his bed, the communal space might get busy, took his glasses case and wand from his pocket, put his glasses away, and laid everything on the nightstand. He tucked him in, gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, and went back into the living room. 

Magnus sat on the ground near the couch, giving Taako a look while he gently shut the door. 

“McDonald’s asleep, wake him and I kill you,” Taako explained, digging the carryout from his bag and throwing it at the fighter. Magnus nods and catches the paper sack, opening it in his lap before beginning to eat. 

“Three burgers? You promised one; I expected leftover fries.”

“Angus ordered like- ten, and I’d already gotten you one anyway.”

Magnus’s face scrunched up, “Ten?”

“Well, it was one at a time until he went for his fifth, where I told him to just get six more, because fuck it, right? Knew you’d eat the extra, and I was right that he wouldn’t even eat them all,” Taako laid himself down on the couch, having mage hand reach into the bag and take out a fry box, bringing it towards himself. He held it in place like a cupholder and worked to finish them off.

“Huh.” Magnus looked to Taako’s bedroom door, as though he could stare right through it and straight at Angus. “I thought you said he’d just woke up?”

“And he fell asleep on the ride back like he hadn’t slept in two days.”

“...Y’think he’s been sleeping too much lately? Not doing enough?... Don’t wake up, stay tired..”

“No, no, if anything he acts like he doesn’t sleep enough. Like, you get spacey and distracted if you don't sleep, right? He gets distracted mid conversation by his own cases or whatever, which is fine, it's pretty cute actually,” he paused to point a finger at Magnus, “Repeat that and I’ll end you. Anyway, his focus is funny, y’know? He’s not as sharp. He seems a lil empty sometimes but not enough to be weird, because he is sleeping?... And it like- would be enough in most folks but I dunno what’s with m’boy, honestly.”

“.. Maybe we should ask in the morning? Try n’ help him out?”

Taako frowned and shook his head. “Nah. Here, lemme let you in on Taako’s thought soup ri’now. Don’t think Ango’s a human kid; he’s super skilled beyond a standard lil boy n’ has some interesting quirks. Have you noticed he has silver freckles, Mags?”

“Well, yeah, but I never thought anything of it.”

“You should. Why would he need those? What’s the point? Get all dolled up to read some fuckin’ books? Sneak into a dude’s lair ready to serve looks? No! Why the fucks he got em? And isn’t he heavy? It’s like moving a full trunk of shit! Oohohoh, and- and-“ Taako grins and stamps his feet on the couch a moment before swinging them over the edge and pulling himself upright, whipping out his Stone of Farspeech and calling Kravitz. Magnus had the feeling he’d been pulled into something far bigger than it ought to be, quietly eating his cold burgers while he awaited the sound of a rip being made in their living room.

When Kravitz entered, he smiled politely to Magnus and looked curiously to Taako. “Dragging him into your investigation as well?”

“Yeah, you’re dead and I’m not human. Might as well. Sit, bone boy. Gots more details to tell ya.”

Kravitz rolled his eyes and smiled, sitting in the chair behind Magnus.

“Right. So. Magnus; how much do you think a little kid like him should eat?” Takao asked, lying on his stomach and staring at him expectantly.

“Uhh.. It depends? Taako- I- I don’t know a lot about kids! You’d have to, to account for how much activity Angus gets and how his metabolism works and if you think he’s sick that could have an influence too,”

“I don’t think he’s sick; I think he’s not human. A kid his age probably eats like.. Two burgers? He doesn’t do a lot of runnin’ jumpin’.”

Kravitz shook his head head and sighed, “But you’re asking Magnus.”

“And not gettin an answer so it’s Taako Time again, baby. Oh, okay so. Angus’s room is… What- what do you think Angus’s room would look like? Both of you.”

“Well kept,” Kravitz offers.

“Messy, with work and clues strewn about,” Magnus counters. 

Taako shakes his head. “All his shits on his bed and its basically all blankets. Its all tangled together. There’s some- and only some stuff- not on his bed. His desk looks chewed to shit, especially his pencils. His work is kept organized but nothing else. He has… I don’t even know how many blankets but I know m’boy don’t need that many to sleep especially if he ain’t even getting under most of em. It’s like a fuckin nest just made of shit.”

“Other than blankets, what else is his nest?” Kravitz asks. 

“Uh.. Books, ring boxes, glasses and wand cases..”

“He collects all of that?”

“I guess? Some of the blankets didn’t even look like good blankets. And by that I don’t mean old and whatever- no these are all pristine ass blankets- I mean that some are just straight fabric or look uncomfortable and rough, like wh-“

“Fabric.”

“What, babe?” Taako props himself on his arm and looks over Kravitz. He’s leaned over himself in thought, elbows on his knees and hands clasped together, and he stares with intense focus at the ground.

“Ya good buddy?” Magnus tries, scooting over a bit to look up at the reaper as well. 

“He has a lot of fabric in various forms. He has no need to collect all those boxes that would hold fragile cargo and thus have plush interiors… Why have tapestries and plain fabric? Not for comfort, surely…”

Magnus shares a brief look with Taako before returning his attention to Kravitz, face tight in focus, the left side of his lip sucked in and being gently bitten by his canines in thought.

“Angus likes to play with the inside of his glasses box, maybe he just likes them?” Magnus suggests with a shrug, but Kravitz just shakes his head.

“Maybe, but… He never trades them out, and having them all in this nest at his bed is.. odd and you said his  _ desk  _ was chewed?”

Taako nodded, “On the edges like a dog, but Angus isn’t that slick. Tons of half pencils, too.”

“Bitten in half?”

“Just as many teeth dents, yah.”

“That’s all… Interesting? Curious? I don’t know what we’re meant to gather from all that,” Magnus says, beginning to rise. “You’re probably overthinking it, Ango might just-“

Kravitz sits up and throws a hand on Magnus’s shoulder, staring off. His eyes dart between the two reclaimers and Taako’s bedroom door before letting go of the fighter 

“He’s collecting things of a wide variety but fairly specific; pretty books and nice fabric. He sleeps in piles of what he’s collected. He’s hoarding them; he’s making a hoard. He collects the Cleveland series, but hoards small boxes. There’s a difference. Ring boxes are all fairly similar, as are aesthetically pleasing books. The mystery novels are different; bright. Appeal to children. They vary.”

“What’re you getting at?” Taako asks. 

“Angus… Definitely, probably, isn’t human, like you’ve said. I’m… Give me a minute to think about that, with the… Hoarding in mind, I-”

“Then he’s a dragon.”

“What?” Both Taako and Kravitz turn to Magnus, who shrugs.

“Yeah, it makes sense to me. Biting; he’d have a lot of teeth. Big mouth. The hoarding and sleeping on top of it all? I don’t know why he’s working with books and blankets but whatever suits him right? Maybe a silver dragon with the freckles?”

Kravitz gently rests his head in his hands with a sigh, “You … That makes- a lot of sense.”

Taako laughs, “Wait, you think my boy’s a fucking  _ dragon _ ? That’s extreme, don’t you think?”

Magnus makes a face, a face of ‘oh well’, while Kravitz nods. “It lines up. I was overthinking it’s, it is really an easy pull.”

“But why the fuck would he pretend to be so young? Bullshit. I don’t believe you.”

“He might just be a young dragon, Taako.” Magnus said it like it was obvious. Stupid. How could they not see how crazy this was? Taako started to protest, again, because the idea was asinine. Why would he be hanging around so young; why would he be polymorphing so regularly so young? That was, if he was a dragon.

“What is he then, Taako, if not a dragon?”

Taako stared at both of them, glaring daggers. This was stupid. He opened his mouth to say something, before shaking his head and getting up. “I’m going to bed. This is too much to think about right now and I’m sure after some sleep on all of our parts you’ll see that the idea that Ango is a fucking dragon is ridiculous.” Taako gathered his things from the table and flicked his empty fry cup at Magnus. With bags of shit hoisted in his arms, he fiddled with the bedroom door for just a moment. Kravitz tried to intercept, with a plan to talk Taako out of his mood- out of what Magnus figured was shock- to help him process the idea, but two words in (“Love, I-“) and Taako had already shut the door.

Magnus and Kravitz looked at eachother, and finding it hard to say much to ease the situation called it a night.

“He just needs some time to think about it, the idea is a pretty big deal, especially since it’s Angus,” Magnus commented while cleaning up, and soon thereafter wishing Kravitz a good evening as he made his leave- or, well, wishing him as good an evening as it could be now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooope that was fun! not gonna make any promises this time uh i still might get my goal of having ch3 up b4 jan is over bc im off work for a week for a trip that wont take the whole week?? anyway
> 
> hope u liked this one, things slow down from here bc we get into the real meat of what i wanted this fic to be so be excited for Better Pacing in the future
> 
> btw shout out to my pal for makimg the mcdonalds joke that i rewrote my openimg scene entirely just for that. fuckimg ideal worked way better anyway but still it was all for some bad jokes about mickey d
> 
> all that said! lmk ur thots n stuff! i lov 2 talk.. nyway ill ttyl ilysm byyyeee!! <3


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